Putin names regional Russian airport Stalingrad
"To perpetuate the victory of the Soviet people in The Great Patriotic War of 1941 to 1945, I hereby decree to assign the historical name 'Stalingrad' to Volgograd International Airport," the decree published on the Kremlin's website said.
World War 2, in which 22-million to 25-million Soviet citizens are estimated to have died, is known in Russia as The Great Patriotic War. For many Russians, Stalingrad conjures memories of the war's sacrifice and the murderous rule of dictator Josef Stalin.
Putin has often compared his invasion of Ukraine to the fight against Nazis, presenting the war to Russians as a "special military operation" to "demilitarise" and "denazify" Ukraine.
Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union and itself suffered devastation at the hands of Adolf Hitler's forces, rejects the parallels as spurious pretexts for a war of imperial conquest.
In a fiery 2023 speech in Volgograd marking the 80th anniversary of the battle of Stalingrad, Putin lambasted Germany for helping to arm Ukraine and reiterated that he was ready to draw on Russia's entire arsenal, which includes nuclear weapons.
Stalingrad, which was renamed Volgograd in 1961, was the bloodiest battle of the war when the Soviet Red Army, at a cost of more than one million casualties, broke the back of German invasion forces in 1942 and 1943.
Reuters
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Daily Maverick
3 hours ago
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Eyewitness News
13 hours ago
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IOL News
17 hours ago
- IOL News
Melania Trump's letter to Putin: A plea for peace in the name of children
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base in Alaska. Image: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP US President Donald Trump handed Vladimir Putin a special item at their Alaska summit: a letter written by his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, pleading for the Russian leader to make peace in the name of children. The first lady's office on Saturday reposted a Fox News article on X containing the short letter, a day after Trump and Putin failed to find a breakthrough at their high-stakes meeting. Putin read the "peace letter" immediately after Trump handed it to him, while delegations from both sides looked on, according to Fox News. Letter from Melania Trump to Putin. Image: Twitter / @Flotus Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading "In today's world, some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them," read the letter, which was signed by the first lady and did not mention Ukraine by name. "Mr Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter," it added. "In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone -- you serve humanity itself." "Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today," the letter read. "It is time." In July, the US president had said that his wife, who was born in Slovenia, had helped change his thinking about Putin. "I go home, I tell the first lady, 'you know, I spoke to Vladimir today, we had a wonderful conversation,'" Trump said. "And she said, 'Oh really? Another city was just hit.'" Trump attempted a rapprochement with Putin shortly after starting his second term, having campaigned on a pledge to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours. During the early months of his new term, he largely directed anger at Ukraine for the lack of a deal, but gradually began expressing frustration that Putin continued his attacks on Ukraine. Before the summit in Alaska, Trump had warned of "severe consequences" if Russia did not accept a ceasefire. However, after meeting with Putin, Trump dropped his demand for a ceasefire, saying the best way to end the war "is to go directly to a peace agreement." Putin has long argued for negotiations on a final peace deal, a strategy that Ukraine and its European allies have criticised as a way to buy time and press Russia's battlefield advances.
